One month into the conflict, small groups of Greenwoodsmen were heading north towards the Yangtze River, while even larger numbers of people were desperately fleeing west and south, away from the battle zones. Search: (Complete Book Station) to read excellent literature for free.

The triangular area from Jiangning eastward to Zhenjiang (over a hundred li), and southward to Lin'an (four hundred and fifty li) was gradually being engulfed in war. This was the most prosperous region in the entire land since the Wu Dynasty's southward relocation, encompassing the wealthiest Jiangnan towns near Taihu Lake and radiating to major cities like Changzhou, Suzhou, and Jiaxing, with a total population of over ten million.

After the Jurchens invaded, this area was filled with vital places that had to be defended. However, even with the manpower of the Wu Dynasty, it was impossible to garrison heavy troops in every city to ensure its survival – in fact, during the great battle of Jian Shuo Year Two, known as "Searching the Mountains and Dredging the Seas," Wushu's army had already swept through many of the Jiangnan towns.

Fortunately, the current situation was different from the past. In this fourth southern invasion, aimed at collapsing the Southern Wu, the Jurchens also lacked the resources for a prolonged campaign. After Wushu's army reached Lin'an, the Wu Dynasty mobilized about 170,000 troops previously stationed in Jiaxing, Suzhou, and other places to come to Lin'an for royal defense. These troops, along with the 200,000 imperial guards stationed in Lin'an, became a central force in this great battle.

The other core was naturally the Yangtze River battle zone, centered on Jiangning and Zhenjiang. After crossing the river, Zong Fu's main force of the Eastern Route Army focused its attack on Jiangning, then spread towards Zhenjiang and the smaller cities to the south. Liu Chengzong's forces in the north, attacking Xuzhou, diverted some of the Jurchen army's attention. Zong Fu's main army, after deducting losses, numbered less than 200,000, supplemented by hundreds of thousands of Han troops from the Central Plains. They attacked Jiangning on one hand, and sent elite troops to push the battle line south as far as possible on the other.

The distance between Jiangning and Lin'an was over four hundred li, a journey of only ten days at full speed. For the Jurchens, there were two strategic directions at present. Either they could defeat the resistance forces led by Crown Prince Jun Wu along the Yangtze River, or they could gradually move south, capturing cities and threatening Lin'an together with Wushu's elite cavalry, forcing the Wu Dynasty to surrender.

These two strategic directions could also be pursued simultaneously. In mid-January, Zong Fu's main force split, with generals Da Bo and A Lu Bao each leading over 30,000 troops to advance south and southeast. Meanwhile, over 100,000 Han troops led by Central Plains warlords Lin Bao Yue and Li Yang Zong had already pushed the battle line south towards Taiping Prefecture (modern-day Ma'anshan), Danyang, and Changning. During this period, several small towns were breached, and the Han troops plundered, burned, and killed indiscriminately, causing countless casualties.

The Wu Dynasty naturally could not allow Zong Fu's troops to continue their southward advance. In addition to the 100,000 Wu Lie Camp troops originally stationed in Jiangning, Han Shizhong also led the main force of the 50,000 Zhenhai Army to be stationed in Jiangning, while another 70,000 Zhenhai Army troops were pushed towards Changning, along with nearly 300,000 Huaiyang troops and reinforcements, firmly blocking Zong Fu's troops' southward path.

By mid to late January, when Yue Fei's Beiwei Army and Xiyin and Yinshuke's Tushan Guards arrived on the battlefield, the Jurchen general A Lu Bao made a feint with his 30,000 troops towards Changning, then turned northeast towards Zhenjiang. Coordinating with Xiyin's forces, they launched a surprise attack on the Zhenjiang area. The entire Jiangnan region was now a tangled mess, with "you in me and me in you."

The situation in Lin'an was even more complex.

After Wushu's cavalry launched an attack on Lin'an in early January, they ceased assaulting the city. The army roamed and pillaged near Lin'an, occasionally clashing and skirmishing with the Wu Dynasty's Shen Cheng and Xu Liejun troops, who had come to defend the capital. Logically, a force of 50,000 would find it difficult to breach a large city defended by 200,000 troops – although the Jurchens had achieved greater victories in the past. The complex interplay of emotions within Lin'an resembled the fluctuations of the stock market in later generations. With each piece of news from the outside world, the city's mood underwent strange shifts. In addition to the overt calls for resistance against the Jurchens and the slogans of dying for the cause, all sorts of thoughts intertwined and connected in secret, undercurrents surged, rising and falling with each message of victory or defeat.

Of course, the Wu Dynasty had nurtured scholars for over two hundred years, and talk of surrendering to the Jurchens or colluding with the enemy was not openly voiced. In the month or so since the start of the war, the various rumors and reports in Lin'an had become even more intricate. There were several versions of the story of Zhou Yong's fallout with a group of officials, such as the rumor that Zhou Yong wanted to reconcile with the Black Flag Army and was subsequently placed under house arrest by the officials. Because of its half-true nature, it seemed particularly plausible.

In addition, after the Huaxia Army issued a proclamation and dispatched assassination squads, discussions about who was a traitor and who had defected to the enemy arose in the capital. Students turned their attention to every suspicious minister in the court. Some small newspapers in the capital, established after Li Pin, began to privately compile and sell pamphlets about the family backgrounds and personal relationships of the court and military officials in order to boost sales. Among them, unsuccessful scholars participated, expressing high-minded opinions to attract attention.

And the discussions about the trend of the war, the possibility of future victory, and the many methods to turn defeat into victory, had never stopped since the beginning of the war. Those who worried about the country and the people traveled in secret, sending memorials such as "Three Strategies for Defending the Enemy and Protecting the Country" and "Ten Theories on Expelling the Jurchens and Reviving the Dynasty" to the court and even to the Princess's mansion every day like snowflakes.

On February 4th, a sixty-year-old scholar calling himself "Old Man of Autumn Hut" even found a small newspaper workshop to print a large number of pages containing his "good strategies for governing the country," imitating the previous actions of Jurchen spies, and distributed these leaflets widely in the city. After the patrol soldiers arrested him, the old man shouted that he wanted to see the Prefect of Lin'an, the Prime Minister, the Chief of the Privy Council, and the Eldest Princess.

The Prefect of Lin'an, Luo Shuwen, was forced to meet him and asked in detail about his good strategies, but they were nothing more than requiring the emperor to reuse great talents like him and immediately execute many court officials he considered problematic. As for how he determined that the court officials were problematic, the information mostly came from various rumors in the capital. The old man had been busy pursuing fame and fortune all his life, but in reality, he had only a scholar's title. In the end, his family property was exhausted, and only an old wife went to the streets and markets every day to pick up some vegetable leaves or even beg for food. He even spent some of his coffin money when printing the leaflets. The Prefect Luo Shuwen was dumbfounded and could only offer two taels of silver and send the old man home.

More bizarre people's hearts are hidden beneath this vast and chaotic public opinion.

On February 8th, a poetry gathering was held in the west of Lin'an City. The venue was an old courtyard called Baopuyuan. Trees were sprouting, peach blossoms were budding, and the breath of spring had just arrived. Amidst the clinking of cups, a middle-aged scholar with a goatee, over thirty years old, was surrounded by many people. This man took out a map of the Wu Dynasty's entire territory and was pointing and gesturing on it. His arguments were clear and persuasive, shocking everyone present.

"...Looking at the situation of our Wu Dynasty, everyone thinks that the center is trapped in the Jiangnan area, which is naturally reasonable. If Lin'an is safe, and the Yangtze River line can finally be defended to the death, holding back the two Jurchen armies, the Wu Dynasty's crisis will surely be resolved. This is the correct theory. If it can be done, there is no need to think too much about other things... But if we simply look at it, in today's world, there is still a core point, in the west - the land of Xiangyang..."

He tapped his finger on the location of Xiangyang on the map, and then moved it further west.

"...Perhaps you don't agree. Xiangyang is indeed an important town, but it is more than 1,500 li away from our Lin'an. Whether Xiangyang is defended or captured, it will not affect the overall situation of our Lin'an. But here, we must talk about an obsolete theory, which is the so-called struggle between the eastern and western Jurchen courts. In the past, when we talked about the eastern and western courts and provoked discord, it was just a scholar's theory on paper. But today, the Jurchens have come, and it is different from the previous theory..."

"...For you and me, if we regard the entire Jin Kingdom as one entity, then the purpose of this southern invasion is naturally to destroy our Wu Dynasty. But what will they do next after the destruction?" The scholar moved his finger westward, further west, and tapped, "Destroy the Black Flag!"

"Everyone, to put it bluntly, the real hidden danger for the Jurchens now is probably not our Wu Dynasty, but this Black Flag Army that has risen from the southwest and once killed Jurchen generals such as Lou Shi and Ci Bushi. And at present, the two Jurchen armies have different levels of importance attached to the Black Flag Army... Judging from the previous situation, Zong Han and Xiyin's troops truly regard the Black Flag Army as a major enemy, while Zong Fu and Wushu's factions regard the destruction of our Wu Dynasty and the capture of Lin'an as their primary goals... It would naturally be best if the two armies joined forces, first broke the Wu Dynasty, and then destroyed the southwest with the power of the world. But here, we should see, what if we retreat and seek second best?"

"...In previous years, we said that there were contradictions between the eastern and western Jurchen courts, and that we could provoke them, but that was just empty talk that was more in word than deed. Zong Han and others were so domineering in their conquest of the world, how could they directly have internal strife with the Aguda faction because of some private provocations? But now, let's think about it, if there is such a choice in front of Zong Han and others: our Lin'an can hold out for a longer time, hold back Wushu, and even make the Jurchen Eastern Route Army's southern expedition fail, but for the Western Route Army, they can gain a great advantage, and even directly enter the southwest, confront the Black Flag Army, destroy this army, and kill that Ning butcher, would Zong Han and Xiyin's faction really not be tempted?"

"...What I am about to say next may be inappropriate, but it is only an idea, if it is..."

The middle-aged man lowered his voice, and everyone leaned in to listen. After a while, some people at the literary gathering pondered, some admired, and some raised objections... The new buds of the trees in the courtyard swayed, and the figures and various viewpoints were soon submerged in this cold spring scenery.

The poetry gathering ended in the afternoon. Groups of two and three people dispersed. The middle-aged man who had spoken earlier bid farewell to a group of scholars and then turned onto the streets of Lin'an City. With the war imminent, the atmosphere in the city was grim, and there were not many pedestrians. This middle-aged man turned through several streets and alleys and realized that something was wrong behind him. He quickened his pace in the next alley, and when he turned into an unmanned alley, he used his strength to climb up the courtyard wall of the next house, but then fell down due to lack of strength.

When he got up from the mud, several figures had already come towards him from the front and back.

The figure was covered with a sack, dragged out of the alley, and then thrown into a carriage. The carriage turned through several long streets and entered the Lin'an Prefecture prison. Soon, Tie Tianying came in from outside, and someone led him into the prison. The middle-aged man in his thirties had been tied to the torture room.

The middle-aged man woke up slowly and saw the old constable who was burning the branding iron. He struggled a few times on the frame: "You, you, you, who are you!? Who are you? I am a *juren*, a *juren* of Jinghan Year Thirteen! What are you doing!?"

Tie Tianying looked up at him: "If you don't know where you are, what are you talking about being a *juren*? If you are kidnapped by bandits, can your *juren* status save you?"

"I, I, I... I can guess, the state has training, punishment is not for high officials, you cannot kill those who speak out, you..."

"Who told you to say these things? Who taught you to say them?"

"No one! No one! The rise and fall of the country is the responsibility of every man! I am a citizen of the Wu Dynasty, I am a *juren*, the country is in great difficulty, I share the country's worries! Share the country's worries! And I just talked about this with everyone, I didn't do anything else--"

The middle-aged man struggled on the wooden frame, shouting in panic. Tie Tianying watched him quietly. After a while, he untied his bloated coat and put it aside, and then picked up the torture instruments.

"We've been watching you for more than a day or two. Everyone does what they have to do, so please forgive me."

...

The early spring sunlight sank, and day turned into night.

At dawn on February 9th, Zhou Pei got up wearing her clothes, washed up, got into the carriage, and passed through the city.

Only a little over an hour after midnight, the city still seemed peaceful, but the further north she went, the more she could hear a subtle buzzing sound in the air. As she approached Hening Gate in the north, the subtle sound gradually became clearer. It was the sound of a large number of people moving.

On the afternoon of the 8th, 30,000 troops under Xu Liejun were defeated by 20,000 elite cavalry sent by Wushu during their transfer. Thousands were killed or wounded. Later, Xu Liejun sent tens of thousands of troops to repel the invading Jurchen cavalry. Now a large number of wounded were being sent to Lin'an City.

After the wounded were transported into the barbican, they underwent a screening. Some doctors went in to provide emergency treatment to the seriously wounded. Zhou Pei climbed onto the city wall and looked at the moans and screams in the barbican. Cheng Zhouhai was already there and came to salute.

"We lost again. I don't know how many people will spread the news in private," Zhou Pei said softly.

"Just keep a low profile. Every time we fight, there are people who are thinking about their own interests," Cheng Zhouhai said.

"More than ten years ago, people still didn't know that the Wu Dynasty would really lose the Central Plains. Even if they had some ideas in private, they couldn't help but think that the Wu Dynasty could survive. But now everyone is discussing 'the worst-case scenario.' In 'the worst-case scenario,' they all hope to live a good life..." Zhou Pei said softly, and leaned forward to look into the darkness at the outermost part of the city wall. "Mr. Cheng, the walls of Bianliang were also this high and this thick, right? Sometimes when I stand underneath and look up, I think that such majestic walls should last forever, but what has happened over the years has told me that it is not necessarily difficult to break them open."

Cheng Zhouhai was silent for a moment: "...Yesterday, His Majesty summoned Your Highness to the palace. What did he say?"

Zhou Pei smiled, then her expression became solemn. She looked around before speaking softly to Cheng Zhouhai: "Father hinted that if the situation in the capital is critical, whether the Zhenhai New Army led by General Han Shizhong can be withdrawn to Lin'an in time to replace the Imperial Guards... Father knows that the people below are restless and doesn't trust the Imperial Guards, and even wants to... dismiss General Yu Zihua of the Imperial Guards."

"Withdrawing the Zhenhai Army is a desperate measure. As for General Yu..." Cheng Zhouhai frowned: "General Yu... rose from the Wu Lie Camp, but he is His Majesty's confidant."

Zhou Pei hesitated for a moment, recalling what her father had said yesterday, and a sarcastic smile appeared on her face: "...Yes, the Wu Lie Camp was stationed in Jiangning in those years. Yu Zihua and Father met in the old days, so he was able to lead the Imperial Guards, but at this time... Mr. Cheng, Father knows better than anyone what kind of people those who played with him back then were. He just has no one to use, and Father trusts them more than anyone when it comes to bullying people and drinking with prostitutes. But when it comes to fighting a war, Father trusts them less than anyone..."

"However, General Yu has indeed repented and reformed in recent years, and he is extremely strict with himself."

"Father doesn't believe these things, and I can only... try my best to dissuade him." Zhou Pei rubbed her forehead. "The Zhenhai Army cannot be moved, and General Yu cannot be easily dismissed. Alas, I hope Father can stay calm. He has also been summoning Qin Hui, Lord Qin, into the palace to inquire about things recently. Lord Qin is experienced in planning for the country and seems to have played a role in dissuading Father. Father wanted to summon the Zhenhai Army back to the capital, and Lord Qin also persuaded him against it... These few days, I want to personally visit Lord Qin and have an open and honest talk with him..."

The two of them watched on the city wall for a while, and then left. The carriage drove away from the city wall, passed through the dark streets, and when it came near the Lin'an Prefecture prison, Zhou Pei, rubbing her forehead, remembered something: "It seems that Head Constable Tie caught some people yesterday. Let's go to the prison and take a look."

Cheng Zhouhai nodded in agreement.

The group came to the prison, and the deputy had already reported what Tie Tianying was doing. As they approached the torture room, the smell of blood came out. Tie Tianying had probably washed his face and hands a little. He came out of the room, with bloodstains on his clothes. He was holding a stack of interrogation records and led Zhou Pei and Cheng Zhouhai to look into the torture room. The middle-aged scholar tied to the wooden frame was no longer in human form.

"Is this a forced confession?" Cheng Zhouhai asked with a frown.

"No," Tie Tianying shook his head. "This person's connection with the Jurchen side has been confirmed. The letters, the informants, and the Imperial Guard soldiers who brought the messages in for him have all been confirmed. Of course, he only believes that he is under the instruction of a powerful family, lobbying for the interests of some large families in the south, but he participated in several previous transmissions of information related to the Jurchens... Now it seems that the Jurchens are starting to come up with new ideas."

"Are these the ones you reported earlier?" Cheng Zhouhai asked.

Tie Tianying nodded, then looked at Zhou Pei with Cheng Zhouhai: "I will report this matter later. Your Highness wants to..." Tie Tianying pointed to the torture room and the relatively clean small room on the other side, asking slightly. Zhou Pei looked at the bloody man in the prison with his fingernails pulled out, and turned to the small room.

Tie Tianying and Cheng Zhouhai followed, and spread out a map on the table in the small room: "People have been talking about this on a small scale for several days. At first glance, it seems quite heretical, but if you chew on it carefully, it is still an idea. Its general direction is this..."

Tie Tianying paused, and cut his palm on the position of Xiangyang on the map, then swept across the western area marked on the map: "If the war in the capital is urgent and there is no retreat... cede Xiangfan and everything west of Xiangfan and north of the Yangtze River to Marshal Zong Han of the Jurchen Western Route Army."

After he finished speaking, Zhou Pei's arm pressed on the table, and her entire face had darkened.

Cheng Zhouhai said softly on the side: "It is said in private that this is a request secretly made to the city by Wanyan Xiyin, the Jurchen general near Zhenjiang. In early January, the Black Flag faction intended to discuss the matter of borrowing a road with Si Zhongxian, the garrison general of Jiange. Jiange is an important passage out of Sichuan. This matter is obviously Ning Yi's deterrence and pressure on the Jurchens. The Jurchen side's decision to make this kind of decision is also obviously a counterattack against the Black Flag Army."

He pointed to the area on the map: "From Xiangfan to Jiange, it is a thousand miles, and it also controls the state of Sichuan. Once this area is ceded, the Jurchen Western Route Army will have enough achievements, and there will be no reason to伐 Wu again, and even the Eastern Route Army's failure to return will be more pleasing to them. And once they control this area, Zong Han and Xiyin will enter Chengdu with strong soldiers, and Zong Han and Ning Yi will have to face each other in advance. Both sides will be hurt, and it is not impossible..."

"Cede a thousand miles of land? How can you say that?" Zhou Pei's voice was dry.

"If Lin'an is in danger, then it will be easy to say..." Cheng Zhouhai said, "Moreover, if you look at it from a big direction, the Jurchens... at least Zong Han and Xiyin are more afraid of the Black Flag Army than the Wu Dynasty. Of course, it is best to swallow the Wu Dynasty and then destroy the Black Flag, but if they retreat and seek second best, I sometimes think that they would rather be able to destroy the Black Flag this time..."

After he finished speaking, he quietly looked at Zhou Pei, and Zhou Pei's body shook. Some things sound like fantasies at first glance, but if they can really be done, Zong Han will lead his army into the southwest, and Ning Yi will lead the Huaxia Army, and they will definitely not retreat. These two strongest armies in the world will kill each other, and the situation will definitely not be as embarrassing as the Jiangnan War of the Wu Dynasty...

Zhou Pei thought for a while, and finally shook her head and left: "This is a statement to confuse people's hearts, find them out and kill them all another day!"

Cheng Zhouhai showed a slight smile. After leaving the prison, he said solemnly: "Even if these things are said beautifully now, their purpose is only to confuse our army. Wanyan Xiyin deserves the name of the Grain God. His阴阳 strategies are not inferior to that Ning butcher in the southwest. However, although we can understand this, many people in the city are probably going to be tempted, and even His Majesty... I hope Your Highness will be cautious and careful..."

Zhou Pei nodded, and soon took the carriage away.

After a few days, similar news began to spread and ferment in the city. The Jurchen Western Route Army made a request: cede everything west of Xiangfan and north of the Yangtze River, and they will withdraw their troops.

And in this, it is said that the Jurchen Eastern Route Army also made a request: The Wu Dynasty recognizes the Great Jin as its father, and will always be a vassal state, offering tribute every year and coming to court every year, and at the same time--

--Kill Han Shizhong to comfort the hearts of the Jin people!

…

In February, Zhenjiang's barracks were mixed with frost and mud. Jun Wu walked out of the camp and could see the scene of troops changing defenses and materials being transferred. Occasionally, wounded soldiers came in, carrying the smell of gunpowder and blood.

War presented more of iron and blood and killing. For half a year, Jun Wu had almost adapted to this rhythm. In front of him were the attacks of many world-famous Jurchen generals, and behind him were the tragic deaths and injuries of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians.

East and south of Zhenjiang, the troops of Jurchen generals such as Xiyin, Yinshuke, and Alubao captured several small cities and were cautiously extending the battle line to the south. And in a larger area, the troops belonging to the Wu Dynasty were sealing off the roads of the southern line layer by layer. Every few days, one or two frictions would occur.

Xiyin's Tushan Guards, the most elite troops under Zong Han of the Jurchen, were difficult to stop their offensive even for the current Beiwei Army in frontal battles. But the Wu Dynasty troops gathered around layer by layer were grinding away its edge. Even if it could not stop its advance in one or two battles, it would definitely seal off its retreat, making it too afraid to act rashly, and unable to move south for a long time.

Compared to the bloody battles of the soldiers on the front line and the generals' strategic planning, the crown prince's identity here was more like a backbone and a mascot. He only needed to exist and firmly implement the belief of resistance to complete the task. Jun Wu was not frustrated by this. No matter how tired he was every day, he tried his best to dress himself up, keep some beard, and straighten his appearance, making himself look more mature and firm, and more able to boost the morale of the soldiers.

Occasionally, the various intrigues and complex people's thoughts from Lin'an made him laugh and sigh. Occasionally, the actions of the patriotic people who rushed from the outside world in front of the Jin people also inspired him. Most of these news were heroic and tragic, but if everyone in the world could be like this, how could the Wu Dynasty have lost the Central Plains?

On February 12th, an envoy of the Jin people came to the army of Zhenjiang, requesting to propose surrender to Crown Prince Jun Wu and the entire Wu Dynasty court. Among them were many greedy conditions such as pledging allegiance and ceding the area west of Xiangfan and north of the Yangtze River, and severely punishing anti-Jin generals. Jun Wu threw it out after reading the beginning.

"Xiyin and others are now besieged by my million-strong army. Let's talk about it when they can get back! Push him out and kill him!"

The envoy was dragged out, shouting: "The two armies are at war, do not kill the envoy! The two armies are at war, do not kill the envoy! We can talk! We can talk, Your Highness!" After being dragged to the drill ground, his head was cut off with one knife.

Soon after, Wanyan Xiyin, who was stationed in the southeast of Zhenjiang, received the envoy's head in the barracks. He smiled slightly and said to the people around him: "This little crown prince is fierce, and he is a little different from everyone in the Wu Dynasty..."

"What a pity..." he sighed.

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